When I ask you in the pre-operative consult if there are any medical problems that I should be aware of, your bleeding disorder is included in that.
Please don't tell me as I am leaving the room "By the way, a doctor tells me I have a bleeding problem."
And then when I ask if you know the name: "No."
And then when I ask if you bleed too much or clot too much "I don't know."
For some reason, as a surgeon, I CARE ABOUT THAT!!!!!!!!!
Fortunately, you knew the name of the blood doctor and I could get a letter from him.
*facepalm*
Yes, this has happened to me recently.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
Dear Doctors,
After asking me to have medical records sent before a consult, please read them. I have not memorized them - in fact, I haven't seen them. Relying on my memory of what a doctor told me several years ago when you have a copy of that written information available to you is foolish.
*facepalm* indeed
This is *really* why I wish I had a microchip bracelet or something so all that could be loaded in for a doctor to access. sigh.
I was shocked to learn a medic alert bracelet wasn't linked to a database of info. It only has the few characters of info that can be squeezed onto it. Wish I could get one I could put all my medical info in that docs and hospitals could access. Guess that's too Big Brother-ish for some?
@Anonymous above,
Thank you for stating so clearly and concisely what I have tried to say for years to med professionals.
Today I asked a patient if she had any complications after her gastric by-pass surgery. She said "no". I did a quick scan of records and realized she was re-admitted to ICU with post-op PE.
**facepalm**
I agree with the first Anonymous. This post shows the disconnect between what doctors think patients understand and what they actually do. I'm not an idiot (not on paper, at least) -- I'm an attorney and my husband is a doctor, but I wouldn't necessarily expect myself to know or understand all potential surgical complications that may arise if I have surgery. Or that I had any in the past. Your patients aren't stupid or trying to confuse you; they simply don't have the extensive training that you do, so things that are obvious or second nature to doctors are definitely not always so to patients.
Folks, there were NO records in my chart from her heme doc. She was a office visit for menorrhagia. I'm having to go on (gasp) her medical history as told by her. So Anon7:17, I would have loved to know this ahead of time.
After she told me the name of her heme doc, I got info from him. And treated her appropriately pre- and post-op without complications from her bleeding d/o. She's several weeks out from surgery now and doing well.
But is it really too much to ask people to know the name of important disorders that they have? Or barring that, what problems they have?
6:28, Seriously? I hope you're not a practicing physician.
i am 628. actually 1828. and i stand by my statement. i do practice. very well. and with empathy. patients forget and are unaware all the time. no problem. we are careful and thorough and deal with it. routinely. the morons are the posters who feel that ignorance is a virtue.
I'm anonymous 10:02, actually since we are suddenly using military time I'm 22:02, I hope that this doesn't confuse the civilians out there. 6:28 you are a moron. You sound bitter and angry, retire soon, please. Just because people have an opinion doesn't make them ignorant, it makes them human. I'm surprised that since you are so opinionated and believe in your thoughts so strongly that you post as "anonymous." I really hope that I never have to be your patient or colleague.
One tutor once told us: Make sure you mention a few diseases when you take the past medical hx because at times patients have been living with a certain condition for such a long time that they tend to forget about it and don't see it as an illness anymore
@ Nadia
Makes complete since to me...
Post a Comment